Hunting coyotes, wild hogs at night now legal in NC

CHERRYVILLE, N.C. - For the first time, starting Wednesday, North Carolina residents could legally hunt coyotes and wild hogs at night.

An employee at the Great Outdoors a store in Cherryville told Eyewitness News that customers had been commenting on the new rules all day Wednesday.

"One guy now is having problems with them eating small sheep and lambs and all calves," said Tyler Bean.
"That's money down the drain for (farmers)".

Wildlife officials in the state are allowing people to hunt the animals on private property at night. It's an effort to control the population of the animals that are destroying landscaping, livestock and domestic animals.

We checked to find out how close hunters could get to neighborhoods. Chris Matthews the Natural Resources Manager with the Division of Nature Preserves and Natural Resources in Mecklenburg County said, "In Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the city and county weapons ordinances pretty much prohibit, or severely limit any hunting activities within the county and take precedence over any regulations put out by wildlife folks."

He said the county weapons ordinance prohibits hunting within hundreds of feet of an occupied dwelling, school, church, private, or a public park in the county.
Gaston County has similar rules.

Ron Elmore lives in Rural Lincoln County on eight acres of land. There is no weapons ordinance there and officials said people outside of the town of Lincolnton are free to exercise the new rule.

"They carry rabies, they kill small animals. I have two Jack Russells and I just wonder if a coyote is going to attack," said Elmore.